Weekend Edition

Molera: Solving Budget Stalemate
Arizona lawmakers have ten days to pass a budget and for Governor Brewer to sign it into law. Former gubernatorial advisor Jaime Molera talks about the task of resolving a monumental budget deficit.
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Gov, Legislature Continue Budget Battle
Before the current legislative session started, many capitol observers thought it'd be smooth sailing, with the GOP in control of both the legislature and governor's office. The reality: not so much. KJZZ's Mark Brodie reports.
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Topics from the Most Recent Show: Saturday | Sunday

Saturday

• Meeting For Coffee And The Morning Kvetch In L.A.
  Every morning at the Original Los Angeles Farmers Market the same group of people meet at a table to laugh and kvetch over coffee and the donuts that their doctors say they shouldn't have.
• As Military Ban Persists, So Does Strain On Gays
  President Obama this week pledged to push for change to the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. While it remains in place, gay servicemen and women continue to keep their lives — and their partners — hidden from the military or risk dismissal.
• Hiking the Appalachian Trail
  Whether recently laid off or just without any job prospects, some people have traded their resumes and interview suits for sleeping bags and hiking boots. They're on the Appalachian Trail for the next four months — and they hope that by the time they're off, the economy will have recovered.
• Spike Lee On Working With Michael Jackson
  Spike Lee directed Michael Jackson on one of the late star's more controversial music videos, "They Don't Care About Us." Scott Simon talks to Lee about his work with Jackson, and about the singer's impact on American culture.
• G-8 Ministers Address Afghanistan, Iran Crises
  The foreign ministers of the Group of Eight industrialized nations lamented widespread corruption in Afghanistan. The ministers, who met in Trieste, Italy, also denounced post-election violence in Iran but avoided condemning the government's crackdown on protesters.
• Figuring Michael Jackson's Estate A Complex Task
  As authorities look deeper into the cause of Michael Jackson's death, financial experts will be trying to determine the value of his estate, which was weighed down by massive debts. So it will likely take some time to untangle Jackson's complex financial affairs.
• Andy Richter: Settling In On 'The Tonight Show'
  Actor-comic Andy Richter has stepped into shoes once occupied by the recently departed Ed McMahon, taking on announcer duties on Conan O'Brien's <em>Tonight Show.</em> Richter joins Scott Simon to talk about what it's like to work on a much loved late-night show.
• House Narrowly Passes Climate Change Measure
  The U.S. House voted 219-212 for a sweeping bill to combat global warming. It would put gradually stricter caps on the total national output of heat-trapping gases, based on a system of permits that can be bought and sold.
• A Symbol Of Women's Struggles In Iran
  Scott Simon speaks with author Roya Hakakian about the widespread prayer vigils she's encouraging for Neda Agha Soltan, the woman whose death on the streets of Tehran was captured on a cell phone video camera. Hakakian also discusses the role of women in Iranian political movements.
• From Politics To Michael Jackson
  Scott Simon speaks with NPR News Analyst Juan Williams about the death of Michael Jackson, and what South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford's affair means to the reputation of the GOP.
• Gov. Sanford Latest Star In Infidelity Parade
  When South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford announced this week he'd had an extramarital affair, he joined several other high-profile politicians admitting infidelities, including Eliot Spitzer, John Ensign, David Vitter and John Edwards.
• A Madoff Investor Urges Harsh Sentence
  Bernard Madoff is scheduled to be sentenced on Monday for perpetrating the greatest financial fraud in history, one that duped thousands of investors, big and small, out of billions of dollars. Scott Simon speaks with Allan Goldstein, 76, who says he lost his life savings to Madoff's Ponzi scheme.
• Letters: Senate Name-Calling, A Breed Apart
  Scott Simon reads listeners' thoughts on the proper title to use when addressing a senator and on the temperament of Lhasa Apsos.
• Fade From Black: A Magazine's Long Story
  Scott Simon talks to conceptual artist Jonathon Keats, who recently published what he calls the longest story ever told on the cover of <em>Opium Magazine</em>. It's a nine-word tale covered in ink that reveals one word per century.
• Motown's Gordy On Michael Jackson
  Berry Gordy Jr. already had stars like Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye and Diana Ross under contract to the Motown label when he signed the Jackson 5 a little over 40 years ago. But of all those huge names, there was one that he was proud to call protege. Scott Simon speaks with Gordy about Michael Jackson.

Sunday

• Poetry From Iran, One Tweet At A Time
  Persians are known for their poetry. So it is not surprising that following Iran's disputed elections, many Iranians have tweeted poetically. Meet 26-year-old Parham Baghestani, whose tweets range from the mundane to the spiritual.
• First And Last Rhymes
  Every answer is a familiar three-word phrase. The clues are two-word phrases. The first word of each phrase rhymes with the first word of the answer. The last word of the phrase rhymes with the last word of the answer. For example, if the clue is, "Split this," the answer would be, "Hit or miss."
• How Should We Teach English-Language Learners?
  The Supreme Court last week ruled that Arizona has not violated federal laws that require schools to help students who do not speak, read or write English. The decision raises a bigger question about why these students have been so poorly served to begin with.
• 'Queen Takes King': The Nature Of Love
  NPR's Liane Hansen talks with Gigi Levangie Grazer about her new novel, <em>Queen Takes King.</em> Grazer is the author of <em>The Starter Wife</em> and <em>Maneater,</em> which was recently adapted for a miniseries. She also wrote the screenplay for the movie, <em>Stepmom.</em>
• The Tricks And Tools Of Worm Charmers
  Mike Forster, chief wormer and founder of the International Federation of Charming Worms and Allied Pastimes, reveals how to coax worms out of the ground. The 30th Annual World Worming Championship was held Saturday in the United Kingdom.
• Letters: Rural Health, Episcopals And Diversity
  NPR's Liane Hansen responds to listener letters and reader comments. A man quoted in NPR's Howard Berkes' piece about rural health insurance corrects an error he inadvertently told the reporter, church officials respond to Barbara Bradley Hagerty's Episcopal Church story and a reader reflects on Gloria Hillard's profile of a Korean-American police officer.
• Bank Crisis Through The Ages
  Each financial crisis in American history has brought sweeping changes and pledges that bank failures will be averted in the future. Planet Money's Chana Joffe-Walt and Alex Blumberg take a tour of financial regulation through the ages.
• Iraq Says It's Ready For Troop Withdrawal
  U.S. troops are scheduled to pull out of Iraq's cities and major towns by the end of the month. NPR's Liane Hansen speaks with Major Gen. Robert Caslen, the commanding General in charge of U.S. forces in the north of Iraq, about the measures the military is taking and whether Iraqi security forces are ready. "With our withdrawal the entire responsibility falls to the Iraqi security forces" and they feel they are ready, Caslen says.
• Commission: 'Zero Tolerance' On Prison Rape
  NPR's Laura Sullivan discusses the new federal "zero-tolerance" standards for prison rape that were released this past week. Statistics show that 4.5 percent of inmates in the nation's prisons reported being raped and slightly more than half of the time the assailants are corrections officers, Sullivan says. Another report shows that some of the officers that perpetrate these crimes are women corrections' officers, she adds.
• Frears' 'Cheri' Both Sumptuous And Dark
  Director Stephen Frears talks about his movie, <em>Cheri,</em> a romantic drama based on a book by Collette, set in 1920s Paris. In the movie, Michelle Pfeiffer plays a woman who is persuaded to look after a friend's son, and ends up having an affair with him. "People don't stop being human no matter how pretty their clothes are," Frears says.
• Fans Hold Vigils To Mourn Michael Jackson
  Vigils are being held across the country for pop superstar Michael Jackson who died last week at the age of 50. Host Liane Hansen talks about one being held Sunday night in the place where his career was born: Hitsville U.S.A.
• Madoff Friend Reflects On Loss
  Bernard Madoff will be sentenced Monday for his vast Ponzi scheme that robbed thousands of investors of their life savings. One of those investors is longtime supermodel Carmen Dell'Orefice, who was also a close friend of the Madoffs. Dell'Orefice, 78, tells NPR's Liane Hansen she's not sure Madoff's wife, Ruth, knew what her husband was doing.
• Are Senior Clerics As Divided As Iran?
  Qom is Iran's holiest city and a central point of the electoral crisis in the country. Islamic scholar Reza Aslan, author of <em>How To Win A Cosmic War</em>, discusses what's happening in Qom and with the Ayatollahs, and how the country might move forward.
• Soccer And The Vuvuzelas
  The remarkable run by the U.S. in the Confederations Cup has been accompanied by an unusual sound. It accompanies every game that's being played in the South African tournament. Fans are blowing stadium horns called vuvuzelas. But some players and coaches find the noise distracting.
• Health Care, Energy Bills Hold For July 4 Holiday
  Congress takes a break next week for the July 4 holiday, having reached critical points in the passage of major bills on energy and health care. They're two of President Obama's domestic priorities &mdash; and he continues to push for both. Liane Hansen talks to NPR's Ron Elving.